Ingredients

Method

• 1.2 kg free-range leg of lamb, deboned
• 1/3 kg olive oil
• 3 t sumac
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 small onions, thinly sliced
• 3 T flour
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup thick Greek yoghurt
• ½ cup chopped fresh mint
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• Pittas, warmed, for serving

Method

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Unroll the leg of lamb onto your work surface. Rub it with 2 to 3 T olive oil and 2 t sumac* and season lightly.

Transfer to a baking tray and roast for 45 minutes, or until tender but still slightly pink. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes.

To make the tahini:

Toast the sesame seeds in a pan over a medium to high heat until golden and warmed through.

Place the hot seeds in a blender and blend, adding a little olive oil as you go, to form a paste. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt, to taste.

Lightly dust the onions slivers in the flour and fry, in batches, in a saucepan of hot canola oil until crisp and golden – about 20 seconds a batch.

Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Fold the remaining sumac into the Greek yoghurt. Mix the chopped mint and parsley with the remaining lemon juice and a little olive oil and drizzle over the cooked lamb.

Serve the lamb sliced and topped with a generous dollop of yoghurt and a scattering of fresh herbs and crisp onions. Pass around the tahini and warm pittas.

*Cook's note: Sumac is a Middle-eastern herb (read more about it here) and available from Asian and Middle-Eastern delis as well as Thrupps. If you cannot find it, simply use lemon zest.